"Ahem. Is this thing on?"
cue the spotlight on an empty stage
Auren steps forward in full court jester regalia, holding a goblet filled with… suspiciously glittery wine.
---
Auren (grinning):
"Welcome back to 'Your Majesty, I Remember Too Much But Lie About It', starring me, the emotionally unstable prince with great cheekbones and zero self-worth."
"Let's recap, shall we?"
---
Chapter 25 to 30?
"Elara pulls a reverse Uno on Serina in the council.
I smirk in the garden like a tragic flower boy.
Then boom—explosion at the docks."
He twirls.
"Everyone panics. Except me. I'm already panicking 24/7, just fashionably."
---
Chapter 32?
"Guess who returns? Daddy Dearest Maelric.
You know, the man who emotionally paper-shredded me as a child."
"Elara stares at me like I've kicked her puppy.
Cladus looks like he wants to kick me."
"And me? I'm just trying to remember if I ever had a personality that wasn't sarcasm and abandonment issues."
---
Chapter 33?
"Cladus reveals he was ordered to assassinate Elara.
But didn't. Because feelings."
He stage-swoons.
"Now he's Duke Cladus of Rhain. Which means he has land, a title, and unresolved sexual tension with our queen."
---
Chapter 34
"And me? I've returned to my roots:
Lying. Flirting. Manipulating. Crying in the wine cellar."
"Everyone thinks I'm a bastard again.
That means the plan is working."
---
He leans forward, suddenly quieter.
"But between us?"
"I'm not doing this because I enjoy being hated."
"I'm doing this because if they knew the truth—if they knew what Serina and Maelric are planning—"
"They'd be too kind to stop it."
---
Auren straightens. Raises his goblet.
"So here's to pain with a punchline.
To queens who don't flinch.
To knights who don't kneel.
And to fools…"
"...who remember everything. And smile anyway."
---
He bows.
"Curtain drops, knives out, and Chapter 35 starts… now."